Firestar's Death
by ShortSindrome
Summary: One of the many options the Erins have on how Firestar could die. This is my personal favorite. Rated T just to be safe. Please, no flaming; it's rather childish. I'm sorry to those of you who reviwed before, but rereading it I saw it needed editing


_My second story. This, as you probably already know, is a FanFic about how I think Firestar _could_ die. I'm not saying he will die like this, but this is how he could die. Please don't flame, it's rather childish. R&R, and enjoy!_

_(Sorry to those that reviwed before, but I made this a while ago and I guess after rereading, I saw that it was in serious need of editing, so I had to delete the origional)_

Disclaimer: I don't own this because, sadly, I don't own Warriors.

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Firestar's nose twitched as he sniffed the air deeply, drinking in the warring scents of ThunderClan and WindClan. Below him, the stream separating the two Clans babbled on, racing over the stones as if in haste to reach the lake. The clear water tumbled over the stream-bed, swirling into little eddies that spun along the pull of the current.

Firestar's ears flicked and his gaze followed the water downstream. He remembered that night, with the full moon shining high above, on his way to the Gathering, his Clan following him, their earnest thick as fog in the air. But not even the deepest fog could have obscured that one scent: the scent of death. Neither could it have hidden the soaking gray shape bobbing in the currents, his tail waving as if he were still alive: Ashfur.

The sudden crashing of breaking bracken sounded from behind Firestar and broke through his thoughts. Moments later Graystripe appeared at his side. Bits of bracken stuck to his dark pelt, sticking out like golden strands of fur. "Firestar!"

"What?" Firestar turned, catching his Clanmate's eye. Graystripe must have seen the dull look in Firestar's gaze because he suddenly paused, also taking a look downstream.

"Are you thinking about Ashfur?"

Firestar sighed, shaking his head and wishing he could tell Graystripe about the huge secret that was weighing down on his shoulders. "Yes," he admitted quietly, turning his sight back towards the water.

Graystripe's tail flicked Firestar's flank. "Well don't. What's past is past; Ashfur's in a better place now."

Firestar eyed Graystripe. "When did you become so wise?"

Graystripe mrrowed with laughter. "When I started hanging out with you and a bunch of wise, old medicine cats all those moons ago."

"Well, I guess Yellowfang could have rubbed off on you... A little." Firestar grinned as Graystripe let out a playful hiss. "A little?"

Jumping, Graystripe took a swipe at Firestar and caught a paw full of fur between his toes before letting go. Firestar growled and cuffed Graystripe on the ear and eventually the two friend's fell down in a pile of fur with purrs rumbling in their throats.

"What's this?"

A slightly annoyed, slightly amused voice sounded from a clump of weeds and a moment later Sandstorm appeared, her face shaped into a scowl. "Really Firestar: a Clan leader goofing off on a border patrol? Ask yourself what a patrol of WindClan cats would have thought if they saw you?"

A snicker sounded behind her and two more cats appeared: Dovepaw flanked by her mentor, Lionblaze. Both young cats were grinning from whisker to whisker.

Flattening his ears in embarrassment, Firestar quickly scrambled to his paws, moving away from Graystripe and swiftly flattening the fur on his chest. "Err-- They would have thought that--"

"That ThunderClan was a collection of mouse-brains," Sandstorm finished. Turning, she flicked her tail at Graystripe. "Come on." Looking directly at Firestar, she added, "If you don't mind, we'll finish up the patrol by hunting. I've noticed Dovepaw could use some stalking practice." She glanced at the apprentice who tucked herself into a little ball before she nodded to Firestar.

"That's fine," Firestar meowed. "I'll catch up with you after I take one last sniff around here." Sandstorm dipped her head before spinning on her heels and plunging into the forest, the rest of the patrol following.

Firestar waited until the faint thuds of his Clanmates' paw steps fell silent, then he began to stalk along the border, sniffing and remarking the more fainter areas of the scent-line.

The ThunderClan leader was inhaling scents near the base of a massive oak at the edge of the stream when he found the strong scent of squirrel. It smelled near.

Swiveling his gaze so that he could see without turning his head, Firestar scanned the woodlands until he caught sight of the thick, twitching brown tail among the roots of the tree. He tensed, expertly lowering his body so that he was pressed almost flat to the ground. Letting his instincts and years of practice take control, he stalked forwards, feeling the forest floor slide beneath his belly. The squirrel was in range now; he could see the gleam of light in it's beady black eyes.

Firestar paused a moment, bunching his muscles to leap. But a moment's pause can be all it takes for trouble to unwind.

For one heartbeat, Firestar was standing upright, his body still in crouching position, then he heard a hiss, "Now!" and he felt something heavy suddenly slam into his side, knocking him off his paws and sending him skidding along the soft earth.

Claws hooked into Firestar's flesh, making him wince. Two amber eyes flashed in front of Firestar's face, and the reek of WindClan filled his lungs.

The eyes blinked and the cat looked over its shoulder. "Get over here!" A second set of paws pounded upon the earth and a second set of claws became embedded in Firestar's fur.

The amber eyes returned to Firestar. "Greetings, Firestar." The voice was pinched, strained as if the cat was in great pain. The cat blinked. "I am Crowfeather." The grip of claws tightened.

Firestar felt himself freeze. Crowfeather! The father of Lionblaze and Jayfeather... and Hollyleaf. The sire of the Three! Or the once Three... But Firestar had no time to think about that now: Crowfeather was speaking.

"The great Firestar, the father of Leafpool, the grandfather of Lionblaze, the greatest fighter in the Clans-"

"Your kit!" Firestar managed to choke out and he suddenly felt claws tighten on his chest, near his throat.

Crowfeather's eyes flashed. "He's not my kit! And neither is that useless Jayfeather you call medicine cat! He's blind!" Fangs flashed in front of Firestar's face; the ThunderClan leader tried not to flinch.

Crowfeather bared his teeth, and the cat whom he had called over earlier lashed its tail, sending a breeze towards Firestar. Inhaling for air, the ThunderClan leader drew in the scent of WindClan and... What was that?

Suddenly Firestar's heartbeat quickened, his eyes widened. "Ivypaw?"

The small cat leaned forward, her pale eyes fixed on her mentor. "Yes. It's me."Firestar began to struggle, trying to shove Crowfeather's massive weight off his chest and shoulders. "Help me, Ivypaw," he gasped, using his claws as he tried to swipe at

Crowfeather's face. The gray tom didn't flinch.

"Help you?" Firestar paused, feeling dread begin to crawl up his spine like ice. How he knew too well what was coming next... How he knew it all too well...

Ivypaw bared her teeth, eyes flashing in a beam of sunlight. "I'm about to become your murderer, you fool!" she hissed. A set of paws, smaller than Crowfeather's placed themselves on his throat.

Firestar choked. "But why?"

Ivypaw's expression gave nothing away. "Because," she growled. From somewhere beyond her, Firestar swore he could see the faint outline of a StarClan warrior slowly shaking her head, her amber eyes round in despair. His heart fluttered. Spottedleaf?

Ivypaw's voice seemed to drive the tortoiseshell image away. "Because," she repeated. "You, Firestar, are the killer of the forest, tainted of warrior blood." Her eyes narrowed. "You killed Tigerstar, the greatest warrior any cat shall ever see. You watched him die at the paws of Scourge, the spiritless BloodClan leader of Twolegplace. You-"

Firestar opened his mouth to cut her off. "Lionblaze is the greatest warrior."

Ivypaw froze. "Y-you know?"

Firestar stiffened, feeling the apprentice's nails sink deeper into his flesh. "Yes. I knew," he rasped and colors began to swirl from behind his eyes. "I knew all along: but Hollyleaf is dead. The prophecy is gone. It's-"

"Still going." Ivypaw seemed to be dazed now. Her eyes were round and her mouth barely moved when she spoke. "It carries on with me... and Dovepaw. One of us is the Third."

Firestar felt as if Ivypaw had just given him a death blow, a harder one than Crowfeather or any other cat could ever give him. He felt bile rise up in his throat, choking him; his vision began to cloud even more and he stared in shock up at Ivypaw. "It's still going..." He tried to regain himself in a last effort. "Which one of you is the Third?"

Claws deepened into Firestar. Crowfeather was staring at the two cats with a blank expression, but Ivypaw was grinning. An evil grin that sent shivers down into Firestar's very soul. Slowly, she leaned towards him, and her breath ruffled Firestar's throat fur. Her voice was that of an innocently sweet kit.

"You'll never know," she breathed. "This was your last life."

Then she finished him.

In a single swift motion, she leaned forward just the last inches more and closed her jaws around Firestar's throat. She gave a single, hard jerk and Firestar knew he was nothing more than dead.

He felt the weight of the two cats lift off his body and their voices were clear at first, then they began to fade, blending into one. Firestar blinked slowly, no longer fighting and, as everything began to fade dark, he again saw that single outline of Spottedleaf shining amongst the black: She was here to take him to StarClan.

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_To explain the murdurers: _

_Crowfeather blamed Firestar for Leafpool and so he teamed up with Ivypaw to murder him._

_Ivypaw was a murdurer because she was jealous of Dovepaw who had previously vowed to protect Firestar with her powers; Ivypaw wanted to make her fail._

_Now, I bet you're thinking, "Of course Spottedleaf came to take Firestar to StarClan; that's way too predictable." Well, I'm sorry but I couldn't find anyone else that would want to take him as much as good ole' Spottedleaf. But hey, did the murdurers surprise yah?_

_I got an idea to add a second chapter to this story from another author, so I might not label it complete because that person really did have an apealing idea... (if I do write that next chapter, I'll give the proper credit to the person who gave me the idea)_


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